Premier League roundup - game week three

By: Adamo Marinelli

August 21, 2022

What a wild week of football in the Premier League with many interesting matchups, some spectacular results, and a handful of upsets that no one saw coming. Let’s break down each game.

Despite an even, scoreless first half, Harry Kane scored his 185th goal in the Premier League for the Tottenham Spurs to move him into fourth place on the all-time scoring list ahead of Manchester City’s Sergio Aguero to give the Spurs a 1-0 win over the Wolverhampton Wanderers to keep their undefeated season alive. The possession battle was relatively even and the Wolves had 20 shots to the Spurs’ 11, but the Spurs had four shots on target to the Wolves’ three and capitalized on their biggest chance to get a much-needed win to improve to 2-1-0 (7 points), for sole possession of fourth place in the league. Wolves are 17th in the league, just outside the relegation zone with a 0-1-2 record (1 point).

Nottingham Forest and Everton played to a 1-1 draw, with both goals coming in the last 10 minutes. Both teams had many chances early on but couldn’t finish. Brennan Johnson got Forest on the board and seven minutes later, Everton left forward Demarai Gray equalized in the 88th minute with a nice strike after Forest’s defense couldn’t recover from a breakdown. Everton outshot Forest 19-14 and 8-5 on target but Forest won the possession battle and controlled most of the game. Forest sit 10th in the league with a 1-1-1 record (4 points), and Everton sit 16th in the league, just above the relegation zone with a 0-1-2 record (1 point).

Southampton substitute forward Che Adams made an immediate impact scoring two goals against Leicester City to complete the comeback and win 2-1. Leicester dominated possession 62-38 percent, controlled play on both sides of the ball in the first half, and took a 1-0 lead in the 54th minute after a skillful goal by James Maddison. Southampton took control after the hour mark and they ended up outshooting Leicester City 9-6 (3-1 on target). Southampton sit mid-table in 11th and Leicester, who haven’t won a game, sit 18th in the relegation zone.

Aleksandar Mitrovic was the hero again for Fulham in the 90th minute, scoring his third goal of the season, which proved to be the game-winning goal against a struggling Brentford side. Fulham controlled the game in the early stages and took an early 2-0 lead in the first 20 minutes after goals from Bobby Reid and Joao Palhinha. Brentford stormed back and controlled the game from the 40th minute until the 80th and Christian Norgaard and Ivan Toney both scored to tie the game before Mitrovic’s winner. Despite being out-possessed 57 to 43 percent, Fulham outshot Brentford 18-13 (9-5 on target). 

Wilfrid Zaha scored two goals to help lead Crystal Palace to a resounding 3-1 victory over Aston Villa. Aston Villa took an early lead in the fifth minute with a goal from Ollie Watkins. Zaha responded less than two minutes later to tie the game 1-1. From that point on, Palace dominated the game, constantly attacked, and showed their presence in the midfield. Possession was slightly in Palace’s favour and Palace outshot Villa 17-13 (9-5 on target). Zaha scored again in the 58th minute and Jean Philippe Mateta sealed the game for Palace in the 71st minute. Palace sits 9th in the league with four points, and Villa sits 13th with three points. 

Martin Odegaard was spectacular, recording a brace in a 3-0 win over newly promoted Bournemouth. Arsenal created several chances early and Odegaard was in the right place at the right time to open the scoring in the 5th minute by tucking in a rebound and he scored again less than 10 minutes later with a fantastic strike to make it 2-0. Center-back William Saliba scored an absolute screamer into the top right corner of the net early in the second half to seal the win for Arsenal. The Gunners were dominant from start to finish. They won the possession battle 59-41 percent, but at the half-hour mark had 80 percent possession and outshot Bournemouth 14-6 (6-1 on target). Jesus’ goal to make it 4-0 was ruled out for offside. The Gunners sit atop the league, as the only team to get three wins & nine points from three games.

Brighton Hove and Albion are continuing their impressive start to the season with a 2-0 win over West Ham, who currently sit rock bottom of the league after losing their first three games. Brighton now has a 2-1-0 record and find themselves in 5th place with seven points. Possession was pretty even and West Ham outshot Brighton 13-11 (3-2 on target), but Brighton was just able to convert on their chances better than West Ham. Alexis Mac Allister scored on a penalty in the 22nd minute and Leandro Trossard sealed the game in the 66th minute. Brighton is 5th in the league with a 2-1-0 record for seven points, tied with Man City, Leeds, and Tottenham on points but behind them all on goal difference.

The upset of the week saw Chelsea get dominated and outplayed in a 3-0 loss to Leeds United.

While Chelsea did win the possession battle 61-39 percent and outshot Leeds 14-12, Leeds had six shots on target to Chelsea’s three and did a much better job converting the chances they got. Edouard Mendy made a huge mistake trying to dribble by Brenden Aaronson, which led to a takeaway and Leeds took a 1-0 lead. Less than four minutes later, Leeds doubled their lead with a goal from Rodrigo Moreno after a horrible defensive miscommunication by Chelsea. Jack Harrison sealed the upset win for Leeds with a 69th-minute goal. Chelsea defender Kalidou Koulibaly got sent off in the 84th minute to put more salt in the wound. Chelsea now has a 1-1-1 record (4 points) and is 12th in the league, Leeds sits third in the league, in a UCL spot with a 2-1-0 record (7 points).

In the game of the week, Manchester City and Newcastle drew 3-3 in a wildly high-scoring affair. Ilkay Gundogan opened the scoring for City in the 5th minute before Newcastle scored three unanswered goals by Miguel Almiron, Callum Wilson, and Kieran Trippier - who scored arguably the best goal of the season so far with a stunning free-kick - to take a commanding 3-1 lead. Man City didn’t give up, however, and they took back control after the hour mark. Man City forward Erling Haaland scored his third goal of the season and less than five minutes later, Bernardo Silva equalized the game for City to secure a point. No one expected City to come out of this game with less than three points, but they dropped two crucial points. City is second in the league with a 2-1-0 record (7 points) behind Arsenal and Newcastle sits fifth in the league with a 1-2-0 record (5 points).

To end off game week three, two teams in dire need of a win, Manchester United and Liverpool met at Old Trafford. While Liverpool dominated possession 71-29 percent and outshot Man United 17-12 (5-4 on target), it was United that came away with a massive 2-1 win, their first under new manager Eric Ten Hag. Jadon Sancho opened the scoring in the 16th minute, by calmly controlling the ball, juking around Liverpool midfielder James Milner before slotting it into the bottom left corner. Virgil Van Dijk made no effort to step up and block the shot, instead just watching the ball enter the net. Marcus Rashford calmly struck the ball into the net in the 53rd minute on the counterattack to give United a 2-0 lead after a beautiful long pass from Anthony Martial. Mo Salah scored on a rebound off a corner to make it 2-1 in the 81st minute but it was too little, too late. United got their first win of the year, and are 14th in the league with a 1-0-2 record (3 points). Liverpool has still not won a game and are 16th in the league with a 0-2-1 record (2 points). This was also quite an upset.

Game week four in the EPL proves to be a fun one, with several interesting matches and storylines. Can Arsenal win again, can Chelsea and Liverpool rebound from miserable performances, and can Brighton, Newcastle, and Fulham continue their strong starts? We'll see next week.